Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Strong Tower Advisory Services’ 4th Largest Position

Strong Tower Advisory Services decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 59,444 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.9% of Strong Tower Advisory Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Apple were worth $13,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its stake in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $237.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $229.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.